diff --git a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/main.cc b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/main.cc
index c6b862b628..e59bf6ba3c 100644
--- a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/main.cc
+++ b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/main.cc
@@ -507,6 +507,11 @@ struct Sculpt::Main : Input_event_handler,
 
 	bool settings_available() const override { return _settings.interactive_settings_available(); }
 
+	bool system_available() const override
+	{
+		return _storage._sculpt_partition.valid() && !_prepare_in_progress();
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Dialog interface
 	 */
@@ -838,6 +843,10 @@ struct Sculpt::Main : Input_event_handler,
 	{
 		_download_queue.reset();
 		_storage.use(target);
+
+		/* hide system panel button and system dialog when "un-using" */
+		_panel_menu_view.generate();
+		_handle_window_layout();
 	}
 
 	void _reset_storage_dialog_operation()
@@ -1590,16 +1599,18 @@ void Sculpt::Main::_handle_window_layout()
 			gen_window(win, Rect(log_p1, log_p2)); });
 
 		int system_right_xpos = 0;
-		_with_window(window_list, system_view_label, [&] (Xml_node win) {
-			Area  const size = win_size(win);
-			Point const pos  = _system_visible
-			                 ? Point(0, avail.y1())
-			                 : Point(-size.w(), avail.y1());
-			gen_window(win, Rect(pos, size));
+		if (system_available()) {
+			_with_window(window_list, system_view_label, [&] (Xml_node win) {
+				Area  const size = win_size(win);
+				Point const pos  = _system_visible
+				                 ? Point(0, avail.y1())
+				                 : Point(-size.w(), avail.y1());
+				gen_window(win, Rect(pos, size));
 
-			if (_system_visible)
-				system_right_xpos = size.w();
-		});
+				if (_system_visible)
+					system_right_xpos = size.w();
+			});
+		}
 
 		_with_window(window_list, settings_view_label, [&] (Xml_node win) {
 			Area  const size = win_size(win);
@@ -1958,6 +1969,7 @@ void Sculpt::Main::_handle_runtime_state()
 
 			/* trigger update and deploy */
 			reconfigure_runtime = true;
+			_panel_menu_view.generate(); /* show "System" button */
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.cc b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.cc
index f70129ba2a..cc3fad289a 100644
--- a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.cc
+++ b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.cc
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ void Panel_dialog::generate(Xml_generator &xml) const
 	xml.node("frame", [&] () {
 		xml.attribute("style", "unimportant");
 
-		if (_state.settings_available()) {
-			gen_named_node(xml, "float", "left", [&] () {
-				xml.attribute("west",  true);
-				xml.node("hbox", [&] () {
+		gen_named_node(xml, "float", "left", [&] () {
+			xml.attribute("west",  true);
+			xml.node("hbox", [&] () {
+				if (_state.system_available()) {
 					xml.node("button", [&] () {
 						_item.gen_button_attr(xml, "system");
 						if (_state.system_visible())
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ void Panel_dialog::generate(Xml_generator &xml) const
 							xml.attribute("text", "System");
 						});
 					});
+				}
+				if (_state.settings_available()) {
 					xml.node("button", [&] () {
 						_item.gen_button_attr(xml, "settings");
 						if (_state.settings_visible())
@@ -41,9 +43,9 @@ void Panel_dialog::generate(Xml_generator &xml) const
 							xml.attribute("text", "Settings");
 						});
 					});
-				});
+				}
 			});
-		}
+		});
 
 		gen_named_node(xml, "float", "center", [&] () {
 			xml.node("hbox", [&] () {
diff --git a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.h b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.h
index 7c1ad5e056..e330272b41 100644
--- a/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.h
+++ b/repos/gems/src/app/sculpt_manager/view/panel_dialog.h
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ struct Sculpt::Panel_dialog : Dialog
 		virtual bool settings_visible()    const = 0;
 		virtual bool network_visible()     const = 0;
 		virtual bool inspect_tab_visible() const = 0;
+		virtual bool system_available()    const = 0;
 		virtual bool settings_available()  const = 0;
 	};